Thanks so much to KarenES for the beta read!
FATHER'S DAY
Father's Day had never meant a damn thing to Deacon, except to serve as a reminder to avoid attendance at any AA meetings on that particular holiday.
He'd made the mistake of ending up at one the third Sunday in June many years back, and it had been an incredibly depressing experience; a church basement full of drunks bemoaning how their addictions had cost them relationships with their kids and telling sob stories about their own deadbeat dads. While he could certainly identify with having a less-than-stellar paternal figure, the ugly memories of growing up with an abusive, alcoholic father were moments he preferred not to revisit.
Even after Deacon found out about his daughter and his relationship with Maddie started to evolve into something undeniably more than just a fun "uncle," the thought of being celebrated on that day had never crossed his mind.
Maddie, however, surprised him.
When the first Father's Day after they'd found out the truth rolled around, she insisted that she wanted to move her usual Saturday afternoon guitar lesson to Sunday so she could spend time with both her dads. Deacon assumed Teddy had probably thrown a fit when he heard Maddie's request - to Rayna at least - but sure enough, at eleven o'clock sharp that Sunday morning, he heard a knock at his front door and there stood Maddie, clutching her guitar case.
While she was getting set up in the living room, Deacon went to grab them something to drink, and when he returned, Maddie was waiting for him, a brightly wrapped package in her hand. He put down the two glasses of sweet tea he was holding and walked over to her.
"For you," she said timidly as he approached, extending the gift to him. "Happy Father's Day."
Deacon's face broke out into a surprised smile as he took the present into his hands. He glanced down, eying the small square card taped to the blue wrapping paper, and then back up at Maddie.
"This is real sweet of you darlin', but you know you didn't have to get me anythin'. Just bein' here with you is enough for me."
"It's not a real gift I bought in a store, just something I thought you might want to have," Maddie explained. She gestured at the package with a nervous grin. "Open it."
He grinned back at her, carefully pulling the card out of the envelope, but was quickly blinking back tears once he read what Maddie had written to him.
Dear Deacon,
I know it hasn't been very long, but I couldn't be prouder and happier to call you my dad.
Love Maddie.
Controlling the emotion he felt stirring inside of him didn't get any easier once he ripped open the gift and saw what it was: A double photo frame that held two pictures of him and his daughter.
The one on the right side couldn't have been more than a couple months old. It was a candid shot, the two of them sitting side by side with their guitars, wide, unreserved smiles on their faces. He racked his brain to remember when it could have been taken, vaguely recalling Maddie asking Scarlett to snap some photos during one of their lessons a few weeks back. He hadn't thought anything of it, assuming she just wanted pictures of herself playing the guitar to post on one of those social media sites - something he'd recently learned was a thing teenage girls did obsessively these days.
The heartache and struggle Deacon suffered throughout his life made his happy memories stand out all the more: Purchasing his first acoustic guitar as a teenager, the gig he played in a dive bar three days after arriving in Nashville back in the 80's, walking into the massive arena of his first major tour, or the night he made love to Rayna after over thirteen years apart. While all of those moments were monumental in his personal history, the recent afternoons he had spent with Maddie writing songs and playing music in his living room had quickly gone right to the top of that list. Having a photo to document the single best part of his life meant more to Deacon than Maddie would ever know.
The picture on the left side of the frame, however, was what really got him choked up. Maddie, who couldn't have been more than two years old, was sitting on his lap in the bunk of one of Rayna's tour buses. Her chubby little fingers curiously explored the strings of the guitar he was holding in one of his hands as he smiled down at her adoringly.
He recognized it immediately as being from Rayna's first tour after Maddie was born.
Things were still very tentative between him and Rayna at that point, but there was a definite sense of relief that they were back in each others' lives, and they had slowly begun to make peace with their new relationship.
When they discussed the possibility of Deacon rejoining her band after his long hiatus, in an attempt to be sensitive to Deacon's feelings, Rayna had informed him she'd be bringing her baby daughter on the road.
Even though he wasn't sure how he'd feel about being around Maddie, whose existence up until that point had just been a painful reminder of the life he should have had with Rayna, he'd agreed anyway.
Unexpectedly though, it was that little girl who ended up being the biggest spirit-lifter on some of the toughest days of his sobriety.
He remembered being surprised by how comfortable she was with him, and even more so, how comfortable he was with her, especially given his lack of experience with young children. Maddie, who tended to be shy around most people, excluding Rayna or her nanny, would happily be held and entertained by Deacon, and he loved spending time with her.
Maddie watched Deacon as he continued to stare at the photo, his eyes transfixed, running his finger along the glass of the frame. She hoped she hadn't upset him or brought back painful memories with the older picture of the two of them.
"I asked Mom if she had any pictures of us from when I was little and she found a few," Maddie told him, breaking the silence. "That one was my favorite. Do you like it?"
Deacon took in a shaky breath and slowly exhaled. He pulled Maddie in for a hug, still gripping the frame in his hand.
"I love it," he said quietly into her hair, squeezing her extra tight. He held on for a long moment before stepping back and looking at her - his daughter, and wiped a stray tear from his cheek. "It's the best gift anyone has ever given me."
{***}
It was a year later, and while things were a bit different than they had been the previous June, Deacon still wasn't expecting any celebration or fanfare on Father's Day. Teddy had the girls for the coming week, so Rayna was dropping them off at his house in the early afternoon and they'd be spending the day with him.
Frankly, that didn't bother Deacon at all.
Now that he and Rayna had gotten married, he got to live in the same house as his daughter, and that luxury far outweighed any one single day he could spend with her.
He finally had the opportunity to do the little things on a regular basis. Things like having breakfast with her in the morning before school, sitting in the living room and playing guitar with her after dinner, or sticking his head into her room before bed to say goodnight. He cherished those moments, especially since he'd missed so much of Maddie's young life.
When Deacon stirred awake on the lazy Sunday morning of Father's Day, he felt the cold, empty space on the mattress next to him before he even opened his eyes.
He was an early riser, always had been, save for his days of brutal hangovers and "sleeping one off." Rayna not so much, unless she had something to do or somewhere to be. It was rare that Deacon woke up and didn't see a mass of red curls trailed across his chest or feel the warmth of her body pressed up against him; warmth that was usually necessary due to her propensity to steal the covers.
Deacon climbed out of bed and quickly pulled on a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants, noting to himself how quiet the house seemed, a rarity on a weekend when the girls were around.
"Anyone home?" he called out, wandering out of the master bedroom. As he jogged down the stairs, his question was answered by the sound of Daphne's familiar high-pitched squeal and the frantic pitter-patter of bare feet.
When he got to the bottom of the staircase, he was met by the tiny blonde, standing there in her pajamas, hands on hips and determined not to let him take one step further.
"What's goin' on, darlin'?" Deacon asked with a smirk.
"Maddie and Mom are making you breakfast in bed. I'm supposed to keep you out of there so you don't ruin the surprise," Daphne explained innocently, not realizing she was doing exactly that.
"Not a surprise anymore, stupid," Maddie yelled loudly, her voice traveling from the kitchen.
Rayna's came next. "Maddie!" she scolded.
Deacon stifled a laugh and bent down so he was eye-level with Daphne. He sniffed the air, pungent with the smell of coffee and various breakfast items cooking.
"Is there bacon?" he asked, lowering his voice to a whisper.
Daphne giggled. "I can't tell you that!"
A moment later, Rayna rounded the corner and Deacon couldn't help but grin at the sight of her. Her hair was wild and messy, still tousled from sleep, her white silk robe untied, exposing one of his faded Bluebird Cafe t-shirts and a pair of lacy black pajama shorts. He'd seen her at her most glamorous; in countless skin-tight sequined dresses and evening gowns, her hair and makeup painstakingly done by an expert glam squad, but this was always how he liked her best.
"Can you go help your sister finish up, sweet girl?" Rayna asked, squeezing her youngest daughter's shoulders and giving her a wink.
Daphne nodded enthusiastically, eliciting a chuckle out of both Deacon and Rayna when she dashed back off toward the kitchen as if she was competing in a race, her blonde ponytail flying out behind her.
With Daphne out of sight, Rayna turned and focused her attention on Deacon.
"And you..." she drawled, placing her hands on his hips and tugging him toward her. "You go upstairs, get in the bed and stay there til' further notice."
Rayna planted a lingering kiss on his lips and pulled back slightly, flashing him the seductive smile that could convince him to do literally anything.
Deacon leaned back in and brushed his lips against hers. "I'm not gonna argue with that," he murmured, slipping his tongue into her mouth, almost forgetting the girls were in the next room until the jarring sound of a metal bowl crashing to the ground brought him back to reality.
Rayna sighed and pulled away reluctantly. "I better go supervise before our house goes up in flames," she said, laughing softly and starting back toward the kitchen. "You go on. We'll be up there in a little bit."
Deacon went back up to the bedroom and settled himself on top of the covers of the unmade bed. He grabbed the book he was reading off the nightstand and cracked it open: Anchored in Love: An Intimate Portrait of June Carter Cash.He'd already devoured almost every single book ever written about the man in black, someone he both identified with and idolized, but had also always been fascinated by the enduring love between Johnny Cash and June Carter. Probably because he saw a lot of himself and Rayna in their story.
He was a few pages into the chapter he was reading when he heard the sound of excited chatter coming from the doorway. He looked up to see Rayna carrying in a tray full of food with Daphne right beside her cautiously gripping a mug of steaming coffee with two hands. Maddie trailed behind them holding a big black leather guitar case with a shiny red bow on it.
"Happy Father's Day," they all chorused, approaching the bed.
"Y'all shouldn't have gone to all this trouble, but this looks damn good," Deacon said appreciatively, smiling as he eyed the spread of scrambled eggs, toast, bacon and fresh fruit.
"We even made you coffee!" Daphne announced, hoisting up the mug she was holding, causing some liquid to spill over the top and land right on Deacon's sweatpants.
"Oops!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide. "Sorry Deacon!"
"That's all right darlin'." Deacon laughed, grabbing a napkin off the breakfast tray Rayna had put down on the bed and dabbing the fabric with it. Rayna gently lifted the coffee cup from Daphne's hands and placed it on the nightstand.
"This is from all of us," Maddie said proudly, holding up the guitar case.
Deacon looked at her curiously, and then at Rayna, his eyebrow quirked.
"I thought you said I was banned from bringing any more guitars into this house for the foreseeable future."
"Well, we wanted you to know how special you are to us and this is a special guitar," Rayna replied. She tilted her head in Maddie's direction. "This one talked me into it."
Maddie handed the case over and Deacon positioned it in his lap, popping it open. His eyes bulged when he saw what was nestled inside the red velvet lining.
"Seriously? A Martin D-28?"
Rayna nodded, a smile creeping over her face as Deacon lifted it out of the case and began to admire it. "Not just a Martin D-28, but the very one owned by Hank Williams."
"No," he whispered in disbelief, looking down at the instrument in wonder. "But...how did you even...?"
Rayna sat down on the bed, still smiling, recalling the fierce negotiation she'd had with the collector she bought it from only days earlier. "Don't worry about that," she said. "Just write us some hits with it, okay?"
"Well I don't know what I did to deserve all this but I sure am grateful. Thank y'all for this amazing gift," Deacon said sincerely, his eyes glistening.
"You're gonna let me play it right?" Maddie asked eagerly, looking at Deacon with hopeful eyes.
Rayna chuckled. "Maybe under special adult supervision. That guitar is worth more than your college education, sweetheart."
Of course, Maddie had her hands on it five minutes later, strumming a song she'd recently written, with Daphne chiming in on harmony. Deacon looked on proudly, sipping his coffee as Rayna stole bites of food off his plate. For all the pain, tragedy and struggle he'd had in his life, he'd somehow landed here, and he felt like the luckiest damn man alive.
Later, when Rayna returned from dropping Maddie and Daphne off at Teddy's, she found Deacon in the same exact spot where she'd left him. He was sitting on the bed and holding the guitar in his arms as if it were a newborn baby.
She shook her head at him. "You haven't moved, have you?"
He looked up at her and grinned. "Are you jealous, darlin'? That I'm cuddlin' with the guitar instead of you?"
She laughed. "Maybe a little."
"I was, uh, thinkin'," he said, strumming some random chords, "that maybe we could take this fine instrument for a test drive. Write somethin' together?"
Rayna kicked off her flats and walked over, sitting down next to him on the bed. She leaned over and kissed him. "I like the sound of that. I'll get my notebook and meet you in the music room?"
"That's not quite what I had in mind," he said, a mischievous glimmer in his eyes. He looked down at the bed and then back up at her. "I was thinkin' maybe we could get inspired in here."
